The collapsed section of Kyone Eait Bridge after Wednesday night’s mine attack. / Michael Michael
Two people were killed and another two dozen injured in a resistance drone attack on regime personnel inspecting a blown-up bridge in Mon State’s Bilin Township on Thursday, the secretary of the junta-run state government told The Irrawaddy.
Kyone Eait Bridge near Shwe Yaung Pya village was blown up around 9 pm on Wednesday.
“A group went to check the bridge to make repairs on the Union Highway. They [resistance forces] dropped bombs [by drone]. A district engineer and an administrative clerk were killed. More than 20 others including, security personnel, suffered wounds to their heads, legs and so on. Most had minor injuries but some needed surgery,” secretary U Toe Win told The Irrawaddy.
The bridge is located on the Union Highway that links the commercial capital of Yangon with the border trade hub of Myawaddy and passes through Mon State’s capital Mawlamyine and Karen State’s capital Hpa-an.
The concrete structure is 95 feet long and 36 feet wide. A 24-foot-wide section collapsed in the mine attack, but vehicles can still use the remaining 12-foot-wide section to cross the bridge.
Two private vehicles plunged off the bridge on Wednesday night, killing one driver, said U Toe Win.
“As it was dark, they were not aware of the collapse,” he said.
The bridge was blown up by Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 1, based in Thaton District, and a People’s Defense Force (PDF) alliance, said Major Saw Kyaw Myint, chairman of Thaton District alliance committee.
The committee oversees 24 local PDF groups that merged in October last year under the single command of KNU Brigade 1. Resistance forces blew up the bridge because the regime was using that road to transport reinforcements and food supplies, said Maj Saw Kyaw Myint.
“We aim to cause logistical problems for the regime, to create delays in transporting reinforcements, tanks, and artillery,” he told The Irrawaddy.
Resistance groups dropped 10 bombs by drone on junta troops inspecting the bridge, he said.
Allied resistance forces under KNU command have lately targeted bridges on key regime supply routes. They blew up three bridges on June 6, including a span in Bago Region’s Kyaukkyi Township which is controlled by KNU Brigade 3.
In response to frequent resistance attacks on its bases, police stations and checkpoints in KNU-controlled areas, junta forces have bulldozed some inter-village roads leading to their bases.
